Agency workers fill more than four in five children's social care vacancies in Luton

A toddler playing with a selection of children's toys. Picture: Dominic Lipinski via PA

Agency workers filled more than four in five vacancies in children's social care services in Luton last year as spending rose, new figures show.

Children's social work charity Frontline said the record use of agency workers across England – which were used to fill more vacancies than in any year since records began in 2017 – is "a symptom of the recruitment and retention crisis" in the workforce.

Department for Education figures show there were 71 full-time-equivalent agency workers in children's social care services in Luton as of 30 September 2023 – down from 81 the year before. The figures also showed the local authority had vacancies equivalent to 86 full-time staff last year. All 71 agency workers employed in the area were used to fill a vacancy last year.

Nationally, the number of agency workers reached a record high in 2023 at 7,174 FTE. Of these, 5,744 were used to fill new vacancies, also a record high. This meant 74.4 per cent of vacancies were covered by agency workers last year, also the highest figure on record.

A Frontline spokesperson said: "The use of additional agency support and subsequent expenditure associated with this is, without a doubt, a symptom of the recruitment and retention crisis we are seeing in children's social care across the country.”

Meanwhile, separate figures from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities show spending on children’s social work services across the country has exploded in recent years, from £8.8 billion in 2017-18 to £12.8 billion in 2022-23. Luton spent £54.2 million in 2022-23 – a rise of 24% from five years earlier.

A spokesperson for the Department for Education said: "Our investment in recruitment and training of child and family social workers and the hard work of local authorities is generating positive results.

"We will continue to work together to address the overreliance on agency staff, while supporting councils to increase their own provision and reduce reliance on the private sector, through £259 million in capital funding over the current spending period.

"More widely, we are reforming children's social care, with plans backed by £200 million to test and refine our approach."